Windows 10: Windows 10 Update can't update system reserved partition

Will try as advised by NavyLCDR in Post #27 and report back.
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.
Don

 

Have everything pending and ready to go, except making the new 360MB "active". Don't see any choices in MiniTool available to do this.
Will this be done automatically?

 

@NavyLCDR
Thank you for your response.

Again, Your answers to the OP so far is based on what you are running Windows in your Laptop which is a MBR partition scheme while his PC is using GPT partition scheme.

Your advice to delete the 100MB EFI system partition and use Macrium to fix the bootrec simply does not work. Not the same in MBR partition scheme where you can have the boot manager in the reserved partition or in the C drive. With GPT, you must have a EFI system partition for Windows to boot.

There's several methods to do that as well. I believe Macrium Reflect does it, if need be, when fixing boot problems with Windows. Diskpart can be used. Windows disk management can be used. Any partitioning program such as Minitool Partition Wizard can do it. There's no such thing to set a EFI system partition as Active with GPT disk, only with MBR disk. Your advice to "Make sure the new partition active" simply does not work either. Here's an example in your response that diskpart can be used with GPT disk:





And also cannot mark active from disk management as the option is grayed out.

So where do we go from here with your three sentence solution ? Please advise

 

rittercon, you're doing an admirable job!

I think the easiest thing for you to try at this point (thanks for all of the great feedback) is to
par 1: shrink by 160 MB
par 2: move (0 MB before / 160 BM after) and resize to 260 MB (100 original + 160 claimed from par 1)

I'm tempted to suggest a 450 MB resize (350 MB from par 1), but I'm curious to see if the advanced 4k scheme is the issue or if it's a Win10 EFI system partition size issue.

I'll leave that decision up to you, it's your time and your machine. If you decide to make one stab at it,
par 1: shrink by 350 MB
par 2: move (0 MB before / 350 MB after) and resize to 450 MB (100 original + 350 claimed from par 1)

I suggest doing this with a bootable Minitool Partition Wizard
Select the 64 bit download and burn the ISO to a disc or use Rufus to put the ISO on a Flash drive
note that Rufus flagged the vesamenu.c32 as old and offered to update it - I did that when I built a PW 9.1 flash and it solved an old monitor issue that always split screen

I'd also like to know how your firmware is set up.
Is the setting:
UEFI
Compatibility Support Module (CSM)
Legacy (BIOS)

I looked at the MSI page (please confirm I went to the correct page for your board)
Type: AMI BIOS
Release Date: 2015-06-05
Version: 1.A
File Size: 6.08 MB
Description - Updated BIOS code to support 5th-Generation Intel Core Processors
***Support 5th-Generation Intel CPU requires VGA driver version 10.18.14.4206 or later
What version is on your machine?

It seems as though you're capable enough., but I'll be glad to answer any questions.

 

If you have successfully moved the EFT partition intact to a location where it can be expanded to 360mb, apparently GPT disks don't have active partitions, so I am guessing it would be good to go. Fingers crossed +

 

Tried Navy's recommendation (post #34) since it seemed easiest. Successfully created 360MB FAT32 partition by copying and extending existing 100MB FAT32 to 360MB unallocated space taken from c drive.

Rebooted system and tried windows 10 install; but no joy. Same error message as previously.

MiniTool shows the new 369MB partition as a "GPT (Data Partition)" w/ "none" status, whereas the existing 100MB system partition is "GPT (EFI System partition)" w/ "Active & Boot" status.





Restored everything back to original and will try Slartybart's recommendation next.

By the way, my BIOS identifies itself as "InsydeH20 Rev 3.7, with BIOS version 1.50, dated 4/18/2014.
My chipset identifies itself as: Intel 8 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller.
Don

 

Boy the more I read about these GPT partitions, the more they scare the crap out of me!!! Right now all mine are MBR partitions, thank God. But I just bought a used computer which is only 1 year old, and still waiting for it at present. If its partitions are GPT I am going to be real pissed I think. Chances are, one of the hard drives will be. Just seems so hard to work with, over the old MBR style.
Making changes to my partitions is so easy. This GPT seems so dam hard it ain't funny. *Shock

 

Rittercon,

Do you see the 2nd partition on disk 1 that is 100mb in size and marked as Active and Boot? That is the partition that Windows 10 needs to update but can't. The reason it can't update it is because it only has 3.8mb free space. The goal is to make that partition 350mb in size with 253.8mb free space left in it so that Windows 10 can then update it. And...hmmmm, how did that get marked as Active when according to topgundcp there can't be an active partition on a GPT disk?

 

Yes- Navy: I understand. Thank you for your help and guidance (and everyone else, too!).

Took a chance and extended the 100MB EFI system partition by "borrowing" 253MB from the 1GB Recovery partition, which showed only 391MB being used. MiniTool did this very quickly and easily. The EFI system partition now shows 353MB total, with 259MB unused.





Windows 10 is now downloading (I never got this far before) and is at 40%. Will let you all know what happens.

If successful, should I put the 253MB back into the Recovery partition, or leave it in the EFI partition? I really don't know what the 1GB Recovery partition is for, or whether 771MB (vs, 1GB) is enough for whatever it does.

Don

 

Happy to announce I am the proud papa of a Windows 10 installation!
MiniTool shows the same stats as the above in post #39, including the amount of unused space on the 771MB Reserved partition and the 353MB EFI System partition.

Thank you everyone, but especially NAVYLCDR, Slartybart and Topgundcp; I couldn't have done this without all your help and assistance.

Don

 

I said it at the beginning and I will say it again, the GPT boot process is controlled by "UEFI Windows Boot Manager" and there's no such thing as Active partition marked by disk management. Not by what you said that diskpart/Disk Management can be used to mark it active. The status "Active" shown by Minitool is not the same as shown in disk management. Just to indicate that this partition was used to boot up windows. Use another partition manager such as AOMEI Partition Manager, where do you see the partition is marked "Active" ?

However. You are correct about increasing the EFI System partition so I give you the credit for that.

Anyway, I am glad the problem got resolved.

 

Glad you got it sorted Don.

I would not change the size of the EFI system part - keep it with a bit of a buffer.

 

and I apologize for not seeing that sooner. I am used to seeing a disk layout of EFI System Reserved Boot Partition, followed by the big partition that is the Windows system, followed by the recovery partition at the end. Yes, the simple, three sentence solution was staring us in the face the whole time (with one adjustment) - shrink the recovery partition. Add the free space to the System Reserved Partition (EFI boot). Reboot.

 

As I said "This is an interesting issue"

The disk schema is UEFI/GPT, but the firmware is BIOS (InsydeH20 Rev 3.7, with BIOS) - a hybrid setup that made me ask a lot of questions. I initially thought the machine was UEFI, based on the disk schema. The Diskpart information Don provided helped a lot. The PartWiz information might have confused some things - PW reports things a little differently than Disk Mgmnt or Diskpart.

Note that the Diskpart (the definitive source) output shows no part as active.

Can you set a GPT partition as active - yes, but it must be of type basic. It is only a flag that says this is where the system file might be and is not required for UEFI firmware to boot.

Anyway, I learned a bit and other things were confirmed - thanks Don, NavyLCDR and topgundcp